LYNWOOD, Calif. — Lawmakers just approved a state budget allocating $25 million to Family Resource Centers across California.
But in South Los Angeles, service providers are concerned this money will be cut from the final spending plan.
As she brings her little ones to child care, Ana Arce calls this place her life raft. She knows her kids are in good hands as she’s treated for her ongoing addiction to methamphetamine.
“I used to use it because I had a lot of problems,” Arce said in Spanish.
The mother of eight said she became addicted years ago as she coped with poverty and the father of her kids’ infidelity. She says he is the one who introduced her to drugs. When Arce finally left him, she says she didn’t know how to deal with her problems.
Arce came to the U.S. with nothing from Mexico and had nowhere to turn.
She tells Valeria Vega, Shields for Families’ special projects director, that she’s gone through detox and worked to get sober several times but kept falling off the wagon until now.
When her new baby was born two months ago, Arce decided it was time to give her little ones the life they deserve.
“I can heal,” Arce said in Spanish.
Shields for Families is a place where they don’t just teach their clients how to break free from addiction, they get to the source of it. But their Family Resource Centers are at high risk of closures, already having to shut down one of their residential programs.
Vega says they’re in desperate need of funding, but only $25 million is proposed in the state budget for 2022 to 2023, and even then, that money will be allocated among 500 Family Resource Centers serving over one million people a year across the state.
“That’s not enough money for all of them to survive,” Vega explained.
The purpose of these centers is to treat the stressors these moms have before they abuse their children that are often the first target when parents are overwhelmed.
Genesis is their daily substance abuse program, offering free resources to the women who are there for several hours. They get mental health counseling, parenting classes, anger management, food and gas vouchers, and sometimes, they even just spend time bonding over games.
Vega says it’s a one-stop shop for any resource they need.“We work with some of the most vulnerable families and children in South LA. They’ve been hit the hardest by the pandemic,” she said. “So it’s a very, very important time for Family Resource Centers to be here.
Arce agrees, saying without this program, she’s not sure where she would be. It’s given her the only hope for sobriety she’s had in years.
“It’s a second home,” she said.
Though legislators adopted the $300 billion state budget last week, it’s not yet final. Gov. Gavin Newsom has 12 days to sign or veto it, but negotiations are expected to continue.